and twos of a kind melting in passionate octaves and triplets. The
groping, ardent, distracted, thwarted, but ever protesting bass, set
against a coquettish, evasive, yet timidly yielding treble; the occasional
introduction of a mysterious minor in the midst of a well-authenticated
major, gives us an intimation that wooing is not an exact science.

Next come the "_Hochzeitsreise_und_Flitter_Wochen_Motive_" (The Bridal Tour
and Honeymoon motives). Here are harp _glissandos_; here are voices
soaring, voices roaring, voices darting, voices floating, weaving an
audible embroidery of sound. They make up the most exquisitely tender scene
of the opera, and arc especially interesting to us in America, since they
are built upon one of our national songs. This can only be regarded as a
flattering recognition of our support of German opera in this country.

ARIA

"Midst the treasures of his palaces, dee-lighted to roam,

"Sister Anne with fair Fatima explored their new home!
"Home! Home! Sweet, sweet Home!
"There's no place like home when a maid's too poor to roam!"

It is later on in this act that we have the celebrated "Hope Motive," a
marvelous series of tone-pictures so novel and sensational that many box-
holders are expected to drop in at ten-thirty for the excitement of this
one brief scene. The motive wanders from key to key, hoping that in the end
it will hit off the right one. Fatima is hoping to find her ideal in
Bluebeard. Sister Anne is hoping to get a handsomer husband than Fatima's;
Blue-beard is hoping that Sister Anne will be his eighth spouse, and hoping
that there will be room to hang her in the hidden chamber, in which his